XmStringDirectionCreate Resource

XmStringDirectionCreate creates a compound string
with a single component, a direction with the given value. On the other hand,
the XmNlayoutDirection resource sets a default rendering
direction for any compound string (XmString) that does
not have a component specifying the direction for that string. Therefore,
to set the layout direction, you set the appropriate value for the XmNlayoutDirection resource. You need not create compound strings with specific direction
components.

When the application renders an XmString, the application
should check whether the string was created with an explicit direction (XmStringDirection). If the application was provided no direction
component, the application should check the value of the XmNlayoutDirection resource for the current widget and use that value as the default
rendering direction for the XmString.